Dr. Michael Veselak, D.C., CFMP

Epigenetics

Epigenetics

Epigenetics is how your diet and lifestyle and environmental influences affects your genetics. These factors include diet, nutritional status, chemical and heavy metal toxic load, environmental stressors and mental perspective. The key to understanding how these factors influence genes can be understood more specifically through the methylation cycle. This cycle when functioning properly can help us optimize genetic expression and overall health.

Methylation

Methylation is a process that happens in our cells trillions of times each minute. It is dependent on several factors to work optimally including proper enzymes and vitamins to carry out the process. Often times there can be genetic mutations of SNP’s (Single nuclear polymoprhisms) that can occur that can affect the process of methylation and detoxification. This will make it very difficult for the individual to adapt effectively and promote or accelerate the aging process or other deleterious effects.

 

Genetic Testing

Genetic testing helps us understand our unique genetic patterns. It will help us determine risks for certain diseases. Provide us with an understanding of why we have specific health challenges. However, it is very important that not all genes express themselves. If there are health challenges looking closely at this process can assist the Doctor in personalizing a treatment program to help discover the cause and help support the body to remove some of the symptoms of the disease process. We must remember to not treat the genes but rather support the body to reduce the symptoms.

With proper methylation, these VERY important functions take place in the body:

  • DNA/RNA synthesis (turning on and off genes)
  • Brain Chemical Production (dopamine and serotonin)
  • Hormonal Breakdown (estrogen and testosterone)
  • Creation of Immune Cells (natural killer cells and T cells) Creation of protective coating on nerves (myelin sheath)
  • Processing of chemicals and toxins (detoxification)
  • Produces energy

Poor methylation can cause these health challenges:

The DNA is our hardware of the body but epigenetics is the software that tells the body what to do.

Epigenetics will not only affect you but your kids and their kids.